Joint Doctoral Degrees

Ph.D in Peace Studies

The Kroc Institute offers a Ph.D. in peace studies in partnership with Notre Dame’s Psychology department as well as with five other departments in the University.

The area grows out of an acute awareness of the need for more rigorous interdisciplinary study of peace and war and for deeper understanding of how peacebuilding can address political, ethnic, and religious violence.

Ph.D. in Psychology and Computer Science and Engineering

The joint degree areas in Psychology (PSY) and Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) have two plans, one where PSY is the student’s primary department (Plan 1) and the other where CSE is the primary department (Plan 2).

Two basic principles govern the design of this degree.

The first is that it is a single, interdisciplinary degree rather than two separate degrees, one in psychology, the other in computer science.

The second is that, though being a single degree, it nonetheless calls for a distinction of emphasis between the two disciplines.

Each student will therefore designate one of the disciplines the primary emphasis and the other the secondary, with the curricular emphasis to be placed on the primary discipline.

This joint degree area requires more by way of training than the ordinary Ph.D. in either of the participating departments. Therefore, it is expected that it will take somewhat longer to complete than the ordinary Ph.D. in either department. Six to seven years is a reasonable estimate based on factors such as the extra requirements due to a qualifying exam in each department.

Thus one would expect funding to be extended to a sixth or seventh year beyond the five years of funding currently provided by the Psychology Department.